Lining the wall of the cave was a row of boulders, too evenly spaced to be natural. One of them was right behind her, and she could see a duplicate of the little book she’d come in through. Engraved on the rock was a single rune, which, while unfamiliar, nevertheless carried the meaning Geryon as clearly to Alice as if it were spelled out in familiar Roman characters.

Those must be the other “front doors,” she thought, looking around at the other boulders. There were more of them than she’d expected, at least fifty. Curious, Alice went to the one beside Geryon’s. She could see where a rune had once been, but someone had chiseled it through with deep cuts. No book lay above it.

She raised her glowing hand above her head and looked around the room for any sign of the other apprentices she was supposed to meet. Nothing moved except for shadows. Maybe I’m early.

She started walking the circle, looking at each rune in turn and parsing its meaning. Helian. Coldheart. Jezail. Vin Einarson. Master of the Closed Circle. Each of them had their own book, in a variety of shapes and sizes. Alice didn’t venture too close, for fear of tripping magical alarms. There were more empty spaces too, names scratched out and pedestals empty.

Before she’d gone a quarter of the way around the circle, a light appeared ahead of her, cheerful and yellow against the green glow from the devilfish. Alice squinted and made out a figure carrying a lantern. She waved her glowing hand, and the light bobbed in response. Encouraged, she went closer.

“Hello,” Alice said. “Are you here for the expedition?”

“I am!” It was a girl’s voice, with an odd, lilting accent. “And you must be one of our company as well!”

The other girl raised her lantern higher, throwing back the shadows. She was Alice’s age or a little older, with dark skin and black, frizzy hair tied back. Her clothes were strange: a sack-like robe of pure white fabric tied at her hips and shoulders to leave her limbs free, and sandals secured by a complicated web of straps. She greeted Alice with a broad smile.

“I am glad to meet you, sister,” the girl said, giving a formal-looking half bow. “May auspicious signs shine on our endeavor.”

This caught Alice a bit off guard. She nodded as politely as she could.

“It’s nice to meet you too,” she said eventually. “I’m Alice.”

“Alice!” the girl said delightedly. “From Adalheidis, signifying nobility of being or birth. Most promising. I am Dexithea, named after the Telchine, though of course there is no true relation.” Alice’s confusion must have been visible, because the girl added, “On previous expeditions my companions have found it convenient to address me as Dex. Please do so if you wish!”